December 26, 2017 – Boxing Day

Hello!!!

I hope you had a great Christmas! It is always a fun time of the year!

This has been a busy week it was transfer week so Sister Thomson left and she went to Saskatoon and I got a new companion! Her name is Sister Silvennoinen! She is from Finland that is why there is a lot of "n`s" in her name :) She is really sweet she has been out for 6 months now. 

We got to help make food hampers for those in the area in need and help deliver them :) I also got to do missionary work in Warroad while I was waiting for Sister Silennoinen to come so that was fun! We got a group together on Christmas eve in the afternoon and we went Christmas caroling which was great! It was great to sing to those who need that! I am so grateful for the members out here willing to help us with anything and it is like home out here! I am grateful to be out here and for the experiences I have learn! 

As the New Year is approaching we can reflect on this year 2017 and see how the Savior has helped us through it! I know that he lives and all we have to do is open our hearts and let him in! Set a new year’s goal to let him in and how we can help other in 2018!

Love you! 

Sister Russell

--

Ether 12:4 

 Hope is the anchor of the soul

December 18^th, 2017 - Merry Christmas

Hello Everyone,

This has been a busy fun week! The highlight was when Jessica got baptized on Thursday evening!!!!! We had a lot of opportunities to provide service this week including stacking firewood, hauling groceries and helping to clean homes. We also had the opportunity to attend a native sharing circle.  It was nice to attend a function on the reserve.

We had our church Lutefisk Christmas party and there were a lot of people from the community that joined us! The Lutefisk even tasted good! (I think I have been here too long.... if I enjoyed Lutefisk)

We got the transfer Email today and............ I am staying here :) I will be in Bergland for Christmas :) .  At this point who my new companion will be is a little in the air.  It is supposed to be a Sister who is from Finland but since we have to cross the US Canadian border so often that may be changed.

I hope this Christmas season treats you well and that you are enjoying light the world!

I look forward to our Christmas day visit.

Love you and Merry Christmas!

Love,

Sister Russell

December 11^th, 2017 - I am dreaming of a White Christmas

Hello!

14 more days till Christmas isn't that exciting :)

So we made it safely to Winnipeg and back! The roads were bad to Winnipeg; it took us 6 hours to drive there but we made it safe so that is what really counts!  I got to go on exchanges with Sister Atwood she is from Cardston Alberta. It was weird going on exchanges with someone younger in the mission than me.... I think that means I am getting old.....

On Wednesday we had our Christmas zone conferences! Those are the best ones! The spiritual high! I got to see some old companions which is great! And I got to be with Sister Kostiuk all day. It was so nice seeing her again!!!! I just wish we had more time to catch up. We got to watch a movie as well!  We got to watch “It's a Wonderful life”! It was 2 hours long which was also nice. A lot of it could be related to the gospel but there was too much kissing for my missionary mind....

So we had a lesson with Jessica and she was telling us she even had a countdown until she is getting baptized on Friday and everything.  We left her home and we got a text from her 30 minutes later asking us if she could get baptized in January instead. We were like she was so excited to get baptized on Friday what happen. I kinda had to go the bathroom and so I was like let’s just go back and see what happen. She did not want to wreck her sister’s birthday party by having her mom and her gone and she wanted her siblings there as well and we were like, how about you get baptized on Thursday instead and see was like okay! And so Jessica is getting baptized on Thursday at 7! So we are really excited!

We went over to the Johnson`s and joined their family for going in the bush and cutting down a Christmas tree!!!!!! I think I should do that with my family next year ;) It was so much fun! 

We had an all time record church attendance since I have been at Bergland.  We had 37 people at church!

So transfers are next week! And that will let me know where I will be for Christmas!

Love you! Enjoy lighting the world!

Love,

Sister Russell

Ether 12:4 

 Hope is the anchor of the soul

December 4, 2017 - It is beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Wow it is already December!

Where did November go! 

The First Presidency Christmas devotional last night was amazing! The middle speaker was very funny!

Well we got to do a lot of visiting teaching on the 30th because it was the last day of the month our bad... we will be better this month!  Our landlords who are not members took us out to a little Church for Supper on Saturday! It was so cute! And there were so many people in that little church and after the meal we got to sing Christmas carols! It was a great way for the people to see us out and about! We got a text from Jess Selena`s daughter telling us that she want to be baptized before Christmas and she leaves for Kenora on the 16th so we have a baptismal date set for the 15th so we have to pretty much teach her all the lessons before that date so hopefully we can see this miracle through! 

One of our local members just got back from her mission to Sweden.  She agreed to help us with a lesson this week. It was more like tripanning than a member present lesson which was really nice

Well today we are off to Winnipeg in some snowy weather to do exchanges with the STLs and for Christmas zone conference! I am so excited for Zone conference, it is the best one! But the weather is really bad today so I am not excited to be driving there today

Have fun lighting the world this week!

Love you!

Sister Russell

--

​Ether 12:4 

 Hope is the anchor of the soul

November 27, 2017 - Have you watched it?

Have you watched the light the world video!?!!!! I am getting so excited! Tonight we are having a FHE/fireside on it to get the members here ready for it! The video is so good!.   I watched it on Friday on President Craig’s phone with 7 other missionaries! You should see if the Elders have the little light the world booklets like last year. Our mission did not get them this year so if they have one you should ask for it so I can have it as a keepsake :) 

That is exciting about the football team! Wow Chris babysat?! How did that go?

You remember last week I talked about Lutefisk being a big thing here. I got to help at the Bergland Hall at the Lutafisk supper that they have every year! We went and started helping them at 1230 and we finished helping 830! They really enjoyed our help they did not have a lot of help so it was much appreciated! I am glad we got to help and let them see us in the community as well not just knocking on their doors.

Well we went to International-Falls for district meeting and interviews.  I got to have a good visit with President Craig! My district and I also went out and had district lunch! It is always fun being with other missionaries! On the way back we got to take some pictures of this really tiny church! 

Well I am running out of time! I hope you have a great week! And don't forget to light the world on Friday!  

Love,

Sister Russell

--

​Ether 12:4 

 Hope is the anchor of the soul

November 20, 2017  - I ate Lutefisk

Hello!

Transfer week was here and gone and I didn't even know it right?! :)

Lutefisk, well it is a big thing here this time of year. We were at a member’s house and they fed it to us just in case one of us got transferred so we could say that we have tried it before we left. It was just jelly like jello texture but it tasted like fish.... ya 

(For those who don’t know Lutefisk or lutfisk is a traditional dish of some Nordic countries. It is traditionally part of the Norwegian julebord and Swedish julbord. It is made from aged stockfish or dried/salted whitefish and lye. It is gelatinous in texture)

Well not a whole lot happen to talk about this week! 

We got to help out with the Bergland craft sale on Saturday! It was a lot of fun we were in the canteen! And I got to flip burgers so it was pretty easy.  They had about 21 tables and that is the biggest one yet! It was fun to see the community come out and let them see us here, and then we come knocking on their door right!  

We got to paint for a member this week to which was a lot of fun! Ya

I hope you have a great week and look for miracles around you  they are there. 

Love,

Sister Russell

p.s. watch the Light the World video on Friday!!!! It will be amazing!!!!

it is hunting season can't you tell!!!!

Walking to save K`s :)

November 13, 2017: Hello! 

It is transfer email today! AND my whole district is staying the same how often does that happen?! Like never!

So I am going to be with Sister Thomson another transfer! I am excited I just love this time of year! 

Well this week has been good but went by so quick.... 

We had a Family home evening with Barb and Derek! It was so much fun! We played a game where you cannot say the word you are describing and the person that is trying to guess can only ask questions trying to figure out the word or the saying! 

We got the last of our wood so we should be good for all winter! 

There is just so much to write about we have found 3 new investigators this week which is great! 

And we had 20 people at church yesterday including us missionaries!

We had a Branch book of Mormon read that we have every Sunday night and we were in Mosiah 3 and 4! It has been a good week! And I am excited for the next one!

Love ya!
Sister Russell

District photo

Sister Thomson and I 

Landscape this is Rainy River.... notice all the houses